“The gaffer has shown an incredible amount of faith in me in amongst the circus that kind of goes on around me,” he said.

“The reception from the fans... I left this club so they would have been within their rights to boo me. That reception makes me incredibly humble and I was just so proud to come on and receive that.

“I’m intent on giving all I can and when I score, it goes some way to validate the gaffer’s faith in me – and the players because they didn’t have to accept me back the way they have.

“I’m not standing here saying that’s two fingers up to anybody. Life’s too short for that. I just feel incredibly privileged and humble to be given the opportunity to be back playing for this football club.”

Barton's free-kick went in after a wicked deflection (Image: PA)

Barton, 34, has experienced just about everything in his big dipper of a career, but even he never imagined coming off the bench to score his first Premier League goal since April 2015 in his second spell.

“It hasn’t been an easy couple of months as you can imagine,” said Barton who has not lost any of his 25 games for the Clarets.

“There are not that many players who take that route of going to Scotland and it doesn’t work out.

“Then it’s January, you’re back playing in the Premier League and scoring the winner in a Premier League game. Even I didn’t think that was possible.

Burnley players celebrate Barton's winner (Image: Getty)

“Sometimes things just work out funny and football is a funny old game.”

There could be another twist to Barton’s crazy story as he faces a ban for betting on 1,260 matches over a 10-year period.

That is a problem for another day and his strike condemned goal-shy Southampton to a fourth straight league defeat.

Saints have the worst conversion rate in the Premier League and have managed a paltry 19 goals – the second-lowest total in the top flight – from 110 shots.